A\npresentation on preparing for Lent had about 230 people gathering in the parish\nhall at St. Peter the Apostle Church in Boerne as Archbishop Gustavo\nGarc\u00eda-Siller, MSpS, spoke at Theology on the Rocks-Hill Country for the second\ntime on February 17, the week prior to Ash Wednesday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYes,\nit is that time when McDonald\u2019s starts selling a fish sandwich, and sales of\npeanut butter go up!\u201d Archbishop Gustavo joked as he began, then followed on a\nmore serious note. \u201cBut Lent is not a time when we don\u2019t eat meat on Friday, it\nis a time of preparation for the glory of Easter. We follow our Lord into the\ndesert and take on spiritual disciplines to remove distractions from our hearts\nand souls. Then we can follow the Lord into his Paschal Mystery.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\narchbishop asked attendees to take a look at the disciplines in a way that will\nmake all more ready to start this blessed time. Christians intensify three\nreligious practices during Lent: fasting, prayer, and almsgiving. These have been\ninherited from our Jewish roots and Catholics share such practices even today\nwith the Jewish community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fasting\ncan mean different things. Catholics fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday,\nabstaining from meat and eating only one full meal (and two smaller meals\naccording to one\u2019s need to maintain strength). Catholics also abstain from meat\non all the Fridays of Lent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cFasting\nis a way to discipline our body and make us more aware of our dependence on\nGod, getting in touch with the deepest spiritual hunger in our lives. It is a\nway of becoming more attentive to how we live our lives,\u201d Archbishop Gustavo\nexplained. \u201cWe find what is truly needed and what is simply extra. Fasting\u2019s\npurpose is to draw us closer to God.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
It\nis also traditional to \u201cfast\u201d from other things during Lent. Often it is giving\nup candy or other sweets. \u201cIf we observe this kind of \u2018fast\u2019 every day during\nLent, we may be tempted to break our commitment occasionally, to sneak just one\nlittle piece of candy or a cookie. But there is also something very satisfying\nwhen we find that we can discipline ourselves and persevere in our \u2018fasting\u2019 throughout\nthe 40 days,\u201d the archbishop recognized. \u201cThis is a helpful discipline, but it\nis rightfully a very juvenile way of fasting. We adults have come farther than\nthat, so our fasting should grow as we have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nMissionary of the Holy Spirit offered his own suggestion for Lent this year:\nMay we \u201cfast\u201d from being angry and reactionary people during this Lent. \u201cWe\nhave become so outraged as a society. Everything is a cause to lose peace and\nshout about what is \u2018not right,\u201d he pointed out. \u201cMay our Lenten fast be to \u2018give\nup\u2019 that worldly way of reacting. We are Christians, and we can choose to\nrespond with patience, peace, and understanding, with care for our sister or\nbrother in Christ.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\nSan Antonio prelate then elaborated on prayer; giving time and space to be with\nGod. During Lent there are traditions of praying the rosary daily, and Stations\nof the Cross take place regularly in parishes. Archbishop Gustavo emphasized\nthat these are beautiful traditions and they need to be kept, however, he once\nagain he urged reflection on an adult faith. \u201cHow can we truly deepen in prayer\nduring this season?\u201d he asked. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\narchbishop stressed that one thing needed in this noisy world is to cultivate a\nsense of silence, and that Christians need to reclaim the tradition of\ncontemplation. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cContemplation\nmeans we sit in silence with the Lord, and let the Holy Spirit speak to our\nhearts in ways we cannot hear with our ears or understand with our minds,\u201d he\nadded f. \u201cIt can be difficult, as our brain rushes to fill the silence. But use\nthis Lenten time to practice.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Archbishop\nGustavo offered this formula: Give 5 or 10 minutes a day to start. Find a place\nyou can be a peace, then sit comfortably and ask God to be with you. Silence\nyour mind and heart. Let God move in his mysterious ways. When thoughts or\nimages come flashing in — and they will! — simply acknowledge them and let\nthem slip past you. You can deal with them later. This is a privileged time with\nGod. Let prayer be your foundation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lastly,\nthe archbishop discussed almsgiving, one of the most misunderstood aspects of Lenten\npractices. Examples of almsgiving include things such as a second collection\nfor the poor or Operation Rice Bowl. Archbishop Gustavo acknowledged the\nimportance of these efforts, but candidly said that these things are often reduced\nto giving the change we have in our pocket at the time. He emphasized that real\nalmsgiving is intentionally caring for the poor, seeing those in need as\nsisters and brothers, and being urgent about sharing with them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow\ncan you or even your family serve the poor this Lent? Can you make sandwiches\nand hand them out to the homeless?\u201d he questioned. The archbishop offered as\nresponses to volunteer at Catholic Charities, organize a canned food drive for\n40 Cans for Lent, or give up something you are used to and spend that money helping\nthose who do not have the resources you have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAlmsgiving\nreminds us that we are all united in the world,\u201d he summed up. \u201cEveryone on\nearth is my neighbor, all are my brothers and sisters, and we need to work to\nopen our hearts to them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Archbishop\nGustavo wrapped up his remarks by urging listeners to approach Lent like\nadults, allowing God to deepen faith and faithfulness by deepening these\npractices so many grew up with. \u201cMay they be tools to increase our love of God\nand our love of neighbor, so that when Holy Week comes, we will be ready to\nwelcome the Lord of love and life,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A presentation on preparing for Lent had about 230 people gathering in the parish hall at St. Peter the Apostle Church in Boerne as Archbishop Gustavo Garc\u00eda-Siller, MSpS, spoke at Theology on the Rocks-Hill Country for the second time on February 17, the week prior to Ash Wednesday. \u201cYes, it is that time when McDonald\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":16486,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[153],"tags":[465,356],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n